# Any really detailed maps of the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148 "2003-09-27T11:54:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/1 "2003-09-27T11:54:56Z")
Whenever I’ve gone to the US, I’ve always been surprised by the low quality and lack of detail in store-bought maps. I’m used to UK [Ordnance Survey](http://www.ordsvy.gov.uk/) maps, that have contour lines, and are [detailed](http://www.wdm.co.uk/images/wdmmap1.png) down to the position of individual trees (sometimes), pylons, barns, and telephone boxes, and exist for every square inch of the UK. But even most privately produced gas station maps give street-level detail (presumably influenced by the OS maps). I appreciate that full Ordnance Survey-style maps are unlikely in the US, given the vastness that is the country, and the preponderance of huge swathes of unpopulated desert/farmland/plains - but are there any available resources that go down to this kind of detail for specific areas? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/2 "2003-09-27T13:13:32Z")
National geological survey maps are extremely detailed. They don’t usually show every tree, but they certainly show every house and structure. We ordered maps of our area when I was in junior high science. These days they have a web site. You can check there to see what’s available. [http://mapping.usgs.gov/](http://mapping.usgs.gov/) Mapquest can give you an aerial view of your house. I don’t know if they use the USGS satellite photos or what. Some of the photos are spiffy color images. Others (like in my area, which is out in the boonties) are black and white. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/3 "2003-09-27T13:15:02Z")
**jjimm,** you can find more detailed maps for some areas/circumstances, but it depends on what you’re looking for. The [US Geological Survey](http://geography.usgs.gov/) produces topographic maps for the nation as a whole. You can get most for a scale as large as 1:24,000 for free (if you download) and for a fee (about $6 a sheet) if you buy the paper version. You won’t typically find those in stores, though, unless you’re in a camping supply shop. [DeLorme](http://www.delorme.com/) publishes their own detailed books of topographic maps (usually by state, I think) - these you can find in the travel section of Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. [Langenscheidt map companies](http://www.langenscheidt.com/Default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1) produce some detailed road maps for the US. I’m most familiar with the New York area maps by Hagstrom, which are fully detailed and sold either as fold-out maps or atlases. I’m sure there are other companies that do the same for other cities. Again, you’ll find these in book stores. Now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem that common to find a detailed road map that also has landscape features; the maps usually have one focus or the other. Generally, if you want maps at more than 1:24,000 that include the level of detail you describe for the UK Ordnance maps, I think you’ll have to be in the market for custom maps in GIS format that will cost you $$$$. I agree, though, that most fold-out maps meant to fit neatly in your glove compartment are not terribly helpful beyond giving you the major roadways. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/4 "2003-09-27T13:27:42Z")
> [@](#): > > I have a map of the United States…actual size. > It says, “Scale: 1 mile = 1 mile” > I spent last summer folding it. > I also have a full-size map of the world. > I hardly ever unroll it. – [Steve Wright](http://www.ae.utexas.edu/~london/humor/SteveWright.html) ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/5 "2003-09-27T13:44:53Z")
That’s a pretty old joke, **Musicat**. From Lewis Carroll’s _Sylvie and Bruno Concluded_ (1893): > [@](#): > > “That’s another thing we’ve learned from your Nation,” said Mein Herr, “map-making. But we’ve carried it much further than you. What do you consider the largest map that would be really useful?” > > “About six inches to the mile.” > > “Only six inches!” exclaimed Mein Herr. “We very soon got to six yards to the mile. Then we tried a hundred yards to the mile. And then came the grandest idea of all! We actually made a map of the country, on the scale of a mile to the mile!” > > ”Have you used it much?” I enquired. > > “It has never been spread out, yet,” said Mein Herr: “the farmers objected: they said it would cover the whole country, and shut out the sunlight! So we now use the country itself, as its own map, and I assure you it does nearly as well." ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/6 "2003-09-27T14:15:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > That’s a pretty old joke, **Musicat** Interesting. I wonder if Steve Wright read much Lewis Carroll. I would say he condensed it a bit from the 1893 version, and made it more pithy. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/7 "2003-09-27T14:48:54Z")
The [TerraServer](http://terraserver-usa.com/) offers downloads of both USGS topographic maps and aerial photos. Resolution options get down to 1 meter. With the maps I used last week, I found the topo contours didn’t show up until I took it down to 4 meter resolution, and then they were metric. Zooming in further, the 2 meter and 1 meter resolution topos had contours in feet. It took about 30 minutes to produce (using CorelDRAW) a 1"=2000’ i meter resolution map of 2 townships. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/8 "2003-09-27T15:30:42Z")
For certain areas you can buy orienteering maps which are ridiculously detailed (because they’re intended to be used for locating goals using only a compass and a map). So you get maps that even note the location of large rocks. e.g. [http://www.globecorner.com/s/98.html](http://www.globecorner.com/s/98.html) But it’s pretty rare that you need that detailed a map and they are extremely labor intensive to create. ---
**Author:** ![mapsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@mapsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mapsmith)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/9 "2003-09-27T16:46:20Z")
As a map retailer in the United States, I do have to agree that OS maps are frequently much better than some of the maps made in the US. However, this could be due to the fact that OS is actually (or once was) a Government Agency. And it was REQUIRED that any zoning Changes be submitted on OS maps. Additionally, since the UK is remarkably smaller than the US in total size, it stands that the mapping is simpler. (There are regions of the US that are larger than all of the UK.) However, in the States, the best maps are the ones produced by USGS. These are the Standard for mapping in the US. Delorme, Terraserver, and Mapquest all use the USGS Base for at least part of the data base to generate their maps. For travel maps, most are produced by Private Commercial Firms. Thus will have a specific focus that may or may not provide the equivalent quality and information that one is looking for. For the best Selection, look for an Independent Map Seller. There are about 200 across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/10 "2003-09-27T18:02:38Z")
I like [topozone.com](http://www.topozone.com/) ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/11 "2003-09-27T20:48:32Z")
DeLorme also sells the USGS quadrangle maps on CD. You can print them out to any scale you like. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-really-detailed-maps-of-the-us/204148/12 "2003-09-27T21:30:13Z")
You are looking for “Map and Gazeteer”. It is a detailed book of maps for each state, cost about twenty bucks, depending on the size of the state. They are sold at check out at Walmart around here and Cabellas has them, check their online store.